The Cobweb Game.
A few month before the battle of Yarvin.
Imperial City, Imperial Palace:
An old man sitting in an armchair, looking up from a datapad.
He knew for sure they would wait for him. So he allowed himself a little smile, realizing the scene of of his most trusted minions regarding each other with dislike and alarm and continued to read the datapad.
Imperial City, Galactic Opera House:
Here they stood in front of the imperial loge, waiting for him to arrive.
Lord Vader, Mara Jade and Ysanne Isard, surrounded by the Red Guard, eying each other suspiciously. All nervously wondering what – for sith sake - this was suposed to be.
When he finally arrived, non of them had the courage to ask him any question. They just set down silently, trying not to arouse any attention from each other.
At least Ysanne Isard leaned her head aside to speak with the Emperor.
"My Imperial Majesty?" she asked "May I speak to you in private?"
"Now?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It's important, but I don't wan't others to overhear." She wispered and glanced at the others.
Palpatine turned around. "Lord Vader, Countess Jade, you may leave us now!" he ordered aloud.
A suprised and alarmed mind touched Palpatine through the force. -- Be patient -- he ordered her. -- Stay with Lord Vader and don't you dare to leave him alone. -- and to Vader he added -- Have an eye on her.--
Both left the loge silently and when the silhouettes of the tall, scary and black man and the smaller and graciler one of the young lady had disappeared, he turned back to Isard.
"Actually who is she?" Ysanne asked "I coud not find anything about her past in my files. Don't you think she's dangerous? In any way?"
"As I told you before, she's just a private pleasure. Nobody to harm you, me or anyone else."
"But she is close to you." She looked at him empahatically "Too close to be harmless. What if she is an assasin sent by the Black Sun? Or even worth, if she sympathizes with the rebels?"
"I would expect betrayl of your hands, rather then of hers. Anyway you see shapes, my child" He abandoned the private conversation and secretly he smiled. She was clever, but neither she had the childish, but keen mind of Mara, nor the unquestioning obedience of Vader. And both was absolutly essential for his plan. So he carefully opend his mind to a single person. --Jade, I've got a job for you to do ...--
Finally, he thought, someone had started the game.
